On the heels of passing the
National ID card in December, the House has passed
legislation radically expanding the scope of the
Orwellian ID law. From Panamerican standardization
to DNA databases to targeting gun owners, it is a
nightmare and does nothing about illegal
immigration. On the heels of passing the National
ID card in December, the House has passed
legislation radically expanding the scope of the
Orwellian ID law. From Panamerican standardization
to DNA databases to targeting gun owners, it is a
nightmare and does nothing about illegal
immigration.

Hoping to keep drivers licenses out of the
hands of terrorists, the House voted Thursday make states verify
that applicants are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants.

Republicans pushed the measure through on
a 261-161 vote despite protests from governors and state motor
vehicle departments that it would be too costly and would require
them to take on the role of immigration officers.

The bill also would make it easier for
judges to deport immigrants seeking political asylum if they think
they might be terrorists.

"Common sense says we should not allow
suspected terrorists to be able to stay inside our borders if they
could harm us," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

The measure was rejected by Congress and
the White House in December as part of a bill reorganizing
intelligence agencies in response to flaws found after the Sept. 11,
2001 terrorism attacks. It was revived with newly won support from
the Bush administration.

"Today there are over 350 valid drivers
license designs issued by the 50 states. We all know it's very
difficult for security officials at airports to tell the real ID
cards from the counterfeit ones," said the bill's sponsor, House
Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner.

Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said the new
features that states would have to include on drivers licenses would
prevent terrorists from using them as IDs to board planes like the
Sept. 11 hijackers did.

Governors, state legislators and motor
vehicle departments have all argued that requiring verification of
background information such as Social Security numbers and whether a
person is in the United States legally would be burdensome.

The National Governors Association and a
group representing motor vehicle department administrators said in a
letter to House leaders that the measure is a "massive unfunded
mandate."

Controversial new legislation billed as
immigration reform has put Congressional Republicans into disarray
over a variety of reasons ranging from Christian refugees to the
National ID card, RAW STORY has learned.

According to senior House aides, who spoke
only on condition of anonymity, several factions of the Republican
Party are up in arms over the Republican authored H.R. 418 or Real
ID Act, scheduled to go to a floor vote today.

The key players, according the aides, are
Chris Smith (R-NJ), Ron Paul (R-Tex), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL),
chairman Sensenbrenner, and a very conservative Republican
Congressman with strong ties to Falwell and Dobson.

Congressman Chris Smith, according to
sources, is opposed to the Asylum Provision of HR 418, which would
affect Christians persecuted in other countries seeking asylum in
the United States. Smith did not return repeated calls for comment.

Asylum Provision

Although Republicans are using terrorism
as the motivation for strict asylum provisions, the current asylum
laws in no way applied to the events of 9/11, since all of the
terrorists involved were in the United States legally and not as
refugees.

One of the new provisions of HR 418 would
require individuals seeking refuge in the U.S. from repressive
and/or abusive regimes to provide documented proof of their
persecution and/or abuse as well as the abusing government’s
motivation.

“Can you imagine a Christian living in the
Sudan going to ask the government to provide the U.S. with
‘motivation’ for persecuting Christians?” one aide said. “What do
you think would happen to that person?”

How religious refugees will be affected by
the asylum provision is a sore point for Congressman Smith, two
sources confirmed. Sources also note Rep. Diaz-Balart’s concerns
about Cuban refugees being denied safe harbor in the U.S.

Barrier Fence Provision

One section of the bill allows the
Homeland Security Secretary to waive all federal, state, and local
law for the construction of “barriers,” and is viewed by some as in
direct opposition to the Constitution.

Primarily, the Secretary would have
discretion to suspend environmental, eminent domain and labor laws.
The provision is worded, however, in such a way as to not limit
construction to the external border of the country and actually
includes roads as “barriers.”

Such suspension of labor laws could affect
child labor, standards of compensation and safety, any and all
compensation for the loss of property, adverse environmental affects
and any damages resulting from toxins.

One aide described a real world example.

“Imagine an illegal immigrant, a child,
working to build roads on your property while spreading dioxin into
the atmosphere,” the aide said.

Sources on both sides of the aisle express
great concern over this particular provision.

One Democratic aide stated that “that
moderate Republicans have privately expressed concern over the
possible loss of the Latino vote, backlash from unions, and the
concern that this in no way strengthens the border, a sentiment
shared by Congressman Paul with regard to the National ID card.”

Provisions Affecting Civil Rights

The bill lays out the groundwork for a
National ID card/driver’s license program and how it is
administered.

The National ID card provision does not
follow the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and instead turns
the DMV worker into an INS worker.

On the surface, a centralized national
database for past criminal records such as DUIs is not an issue for
most Republicans and Democrats. What is of concern is the wording of
the provision which asks the state to at “minimum” provide
confirmation of documents of citizenship based on an assessment by a
DMV employee.

The wording is such that it opens the door
for the government to require anything from gun ownership records to
health records should the state demand them.

This provision, Congressional aides say,
does not in any way address the issue of terrorism because the
terrorists responsible for 9/11 were in the United States legally
and had legal drivers’ licenses. Further, 9/11 terrorists were given
passports from the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia.

Republican Congressman Ron Paul is among
those vehemently denouncing the ID card.

“Very few people seem to see this as we
do, as a precursor to something very bad, a domestic passport, a
national ID card to do the business of life in America, to get a
job, to travel,” said Rep. Paul’s press secretary Jeff Deist. “It
doesn’t strengthen border control; it doesn’t add new agents or
anything like that.”

“I think most Republican members are going
to vote for it. I don’t think are there are that many House members
[who will vote against it].”

Gun Owners of America agree with this
concern.

“In considering this bill, the U.S. House
will vote on whether to empower the federal government to determine
who can get a driver’s license – and under what conditions,” the
group said in a statement. “Since you need a driver’s license to
purchase a gun from a dealer, this will give [the government] the
expanded ability to impose even greater forms of gun control –
something which it has long coveted. This will become even more
apparent if an anti-gun Democrat like Hillary Clinton wins the
presidency in 2008.”

“Ron is very much against this bill,”
Deist added, echoing concerns of gun owners. “We wouldn’t
characterize this as an immigration bill at all; from our
perspective it does nothing about immigration but rather is a
national ID bill. We liken it to gun laws that criminals ignore but
law abiding citizens obey.”

Groups across the gamut of social and
political persuasions express concern over the Patriot Act II
provision which gives the Secretary of Homeland Security even more
authority. The definition of what is a terrorist and/or a terrorist
organization is very broad and could include protesters, political
groups, and anyone the government “labels” as a terrorist.

The law will also apply retroactively to
activities that were legal at the time, but later were labeled
“terrorist.”

One source gave the following real life
example: “Imagine I donate to a grassroots political party started
by a group of average Americans. My donation is legal and the
group’s activities are legal. Let’s say 10 years from now this group
is run by different people and those people do something deemed to
be “terrorism.” I can be labeled a terrorist because 10 years prior,
I had donated to them, even though it was legal at the time.”

Some have stated that the only real reason
for this type of law would be to deter from any political dissent.

The American Civil Liberties Union is
incredibly troubled by the implications of the proposed legislation,
deeming this act as an annulment of the entire Bill of Rights.

Sources say that some of these
‘immigration’ provisions are what held up the intelligence reform
bill which Rep. Sensenbrenner would not bring to a vote late last
year. In an attempt to mollify Sensenbrenner, a promise was made
that

HR 418 would be brought to the floor for a
vote early in 2005.

One aide said a floor debate was scheduled
between House Democrats and House Republicans on the full HR 418
proposed legislation for Thursday, but the Republican House
leadership held an unannounced closed door meeting on Wednesday to
“bring” the dissenting views “back in line.”

Congressman Paul’s office, however, says
that this is not the case.

“I don’t think there’s much pressure. I
think most members support it,” Deist said. “I don’t get a sense at
all there’s an effort [afoot] to twist people’s arms on the
Republican side.”

National ID Cards Coming Up For A Vote This
Week:Threats to gun owners'
privacy are a huge concern

The National ID card is back in the news,
as Congress is getting set once again to debate the issue.

You will remember that late last year,
Congress passed (and the President signed) legislation which starts
us down the road to a National ID card. In the name of preventing
alien terrorists from operating in this country, the so-called
Intelligence Reform bill gave federal bureaucrats unprecedented new
powers to force changes in state-issued driver's licenses --
including, possibly, the addition of computer chip technology that
can facilitate the tracking of all U.S. citizens.

Now, the House will be debating new
legislation, H.R. 418, that was recently introduced by Rep. James
Sensenbrenner (R-WI). In considering this bill, the U.S. House will
vote on whether to empower the federal government to determine who
can get a driver's license -- and under what conditions.

Since you need a driver's license to
purchase a gun from a dealer, this will give BATFE the expanded
ability to impose even greater forms of gun control -- something
which it has long coveted. This will become even more apparent if an
anti-gun Democrat like Hillary Clinton wins the presidency in 2008.

H.R. 418 is, unfortunately, supported by
many Republicans who believe that repealing our liberties will
somehow make us "secure." But GOA joined a large coalition of
citizen-activist organizations this week in opposition to H.R. 418.
In a letter to Congress, the coalition stated: Standardization
of driver's licenses has long been recognized as a bureaucratic
back-door to implementation of a national ID card. With its required
linking of databases and ability of the Secretary of Homeland
Security to require a prescribed format, HR 418 takes us well along
that road. Concerns are further heightened when the bill fails to
even provide lip service to privacy concerns, and proposes to share
all of our data on the driver's license database with Canada and
Mexico.

Realizing government's tendency towards
mission creep, no one should be surprised if this database grows to
contain far more information than that which is relevant to driving.
HR 418 requires that the database shall contain "at a minimum," all
information contained on the driver's license as well as driving
history. There is no limit to what other information may eventually
be contained in the database -- something which should definitely
concern gun owners.

H.R. 418 is being touted as a way of
cleaning up some of the problems with the law that was enacted last
December. But this bill is still an attack on states' rights. It
still takes us down the road to a National ID card. And it would
still do nothing to keep real terrorists from operating in our
country.

ACTION: Please contact your Representative
and urge him or her to oppose H.R. 418. You can use the pre-written
message below and send it as an e-mail by visiting the GOA
Legislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm
(where phone and fax numbers are also available).

-----Pre-written letter-----

Dear Representative:

H.R. 418 would give the federal government
open-ended authority to determine who may and may not get a driver's
license -- and under what circumstances.

Since I need a driver's license to
purchase a gun from a dealer, BATFE would finally have its
long-coveted tool to impose gun control on targeted groups --
particularly under a liberal anti-gun administration.

If you believe in the Second Amendment,
please vote against this anti-gun monstrosity.